Now that we have until March 31st to convert hotel points into Companion Pass qualifying Southwest points, I expect that readers will have more interest than ever before in Marriott Travel packages. After all, until March 31st, Marriott Travel Packages offer a fantastic way to get the Southwest Companion pass that will be good for an unlimited number of flights for almost two years!
Here are 12 things that you need to know…
1. What are Marriott Travel Packages?
Marriott travel packages are awards in which you exchange Marriott Rewards points for airline miles plus a certificate for a 7 night stay. You do not need to use the airline miles as part of the trip in which you book your stay. The number of Marriott Rewards points required depends on which package you select (e.g. which type of airline miles you want), how many miles you want (50,000; 70,000; 100,000; or 120,000), and which category of hotel you plan to visit. More details can be found on Marriott’s website, here.
2. What about 5 Night Packages?
5 night packages exist, but they’re intended only for Marriott Vacation Club (timeshare) owners. Some people have been able to book 5 night packages despite this restriction, but most who ask are turned away. In other words, don’t count on being able to book these. If you can somehow book one, they do offer tremendous value. See: Analysis of Marriott Travel Packages: 5 Night vs. 7 Night.
3. Do I have to select a specific hotel before I redeem points for a travel package?
No. When you redeem points for a travel package, you get a certificate that’s good for a full year. In most cases, Marriott reps have been willing to extend the expiration date even further for those who have been unable to redeem their certificate in time.
4. Do I have to know which category of hotel I want before I redeem points for a travel package?
No. My recommendation is to get a Category 1-5 package. If you later want to redeem the 7 nights at a category 6 or higher hotel, you can simply pay the difference in package price at the time your redeem your certificate. For example, if you spend 270,000 Marriott points for a 7 Night Category 1-5 package and later decide to use the certificate in a category 9 hotel, you’ll simply pay the difference in price between the Category 1-5 and Category 9 packages. Since the Category 9 package costs 390,000 points, you would pay the difference: 390,000 – 270,000 = 120,000.
5. Which packages offer the best value?
Until March 31, 2017, Hotel + Air Package 3 offers the best value for those who fly Southwest because Southwest points will count towards the Southwest Companion Pass. By purchasing the 7 Nights + 120,000 Rapid Rewards Points package, you’ll get a Companion Pass good for the rest of 2017 and all of 2018! If you go this route, I highly recommend purchasing the package at least a week before the March 31st deadline to ensure that you receive the points by March 31st.
The next best value is arguably the United RewardsPlus package since it offers the most miles (thanks to the partnership between United and Marriott):
Depending on your mile-needs, Hotel + Air Package 1 may be the best. With this package you can choose from a number of valuable airline programs including Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta.
Avoid packages 2 and 4 since they offer poor value compared to the others.
6. How many miles should I get?
If you value miles over Marriott Rewards points (and you should!), then always choose the package that is furthest to the right (e.g. 120,000 miles with packages 1 and 3). A good rule of thumb is to first pick the type of miles you want, then pick the package that is in the top, right of the chart. If you don’t have enough Marriott Rewards points it can make sense to buy SPG points to top off your balance (see answer 10 below for more options).
7. Is it hard to use the 7 night certificates?
Unfortunately, yes. To get full value, you have to find a hotel with 7 nights of standard room award availability. Even if you don’t want to stay the full 7 nights, you must book 7 nights in order to use the certificate. You can’t use some nights at one hotel and some at another. You can split up the nights at the same hotel, but only if you book paid nights in-between and on the same reservation. For example, suppose a hotel has award nights available on weekdays, but not weekends. You could then book a 9 night stay and use the certificate to book Monday through Thursday night, pay yourself for Friday and Saturday night, then use the certificate for Sunday and Monday night.
UPDATE 1/23/2017: In a conversation with a Marriott Rewards supervisor, I was told that you can book fewer than 7 nights, but the certificate will have no left over value. This can be very important in situations where the hotel you want to stay at has award nights available for 5 or 6 nights in a row, but not for 7.
8. What are my options if I can’t ever use the certificate?
First, it makes sense to call Marriott Rewards and ask them to extend the validity of the certificate for another year. If you’re sure you won’t use the certificate, though, you can try to get a partial points refund. If you book a 7 Night package costing 270,000 Marriott Rewards points, you should get back 45,000 Marriott Rewards points. If you cancel a higher category package, you’ll get back 45,000 points plus the difference in package price between your package and the Category 1-5 package.
9. Can I use the 7 Night Certificate at SPG properties?
No, not yet. It seems likely that there will come a time when you can, but I can’t promise anything.
10. I want one of these! How do I earn enough Marriott points quickly?
Keep in mind that you can freely convert SPG points to Marriott points at a 1 to 3 ratio. So, 90,000 SPG points convert to 270,000 Marriott points. If you still need additional points quickly, the best option is to sign up for credit cards:
- Marriott Rewards Premier 90,500 points: Earn 80,000 points after $3,000 spend in 3 months, plus earn 7,500 points for adding an authorized user. After meeting spend requirements you’ll have at least 90,500 points.
- Marriott Rewards Premier Business 83,000 points: Earn 80,000 points after $3,000 spend in 3 months. After meeting spend requirements, you’ll have at least 83,000 points.
- Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card 84,000 Marriott Rewards points: Earn 25,000 SPG points after $3,000 spend. Once done with spend you should have 28,000 SPG points which equal 84,000 Marriott Rewards points.
- Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card 135,000 Marriott Rewards points: Earn 25,000 SPG points after $6,000 spend in the first 3 months and then an additional 10,000 SPG points after an additional $4,000 spend in the first 6 months. Once done with spend you should have 45,000 SPG points which equal 135,000 Marriott Rewards points. (Offer ends 11/1/17)
More options:
- Refer others. You may be able to earn additional points by referring others to these cards if you are a current cardholder.
- Friends can help by transferring points to you. Marriott allows members to transfer up to 50,000 points per year to others for a fixed $10 fee which is waived for Gold and Platinum members.
- Buy points. Marriott sells points for 1.25 cents each (limit 50,000 per year). SPG sells points for 3.5 cents each (1.17 cents per Marriott point) with a limit of 30,000 points (90,000 Marriott Rewards points). SPG points are often on sale cheaper, so keep an eye out for a good promotion.
- Transfer points from Chase Ultimate Rewards to Marriott 1 to 1. In general I don’t recommend this since you can get better value for those points, but it can make sense when topping off the points needed for a Marriott Travel Package.
- Transfer points from Amex Membership Rewards to SPG and then to Marriott. Amex transfers to SPG are usually 3 to 1, so that results in a 1 to 1 transfer to Marriott. Keep an eye out for a transfer bonus which would improve the transfer rate.
11. Can I combine points with my significant other to book this?
Yes. When you call Marriott Rewards to book the travel package, you can ask them to pull the points from both accounts.
12. Does it make sense to get a Travel Package even if I don’t want to stay at a Marriott hotel… ever?
Surprisingly… Yes. The packages in the top right of each Travel Package (except for packages 2 and 4) offer good value for the miles alone. Let’s take an example using my current Reasonable Redemption Values (RRVs). At this time, the RRV table shows Marriott points worth 0.68 cents each, and Southwest points worth 1.6 cents each. So, 270,000 Marriott points can be said to be worth 270,000 x $0.0068 = $1,836. If you redeem those 270,000 points for a 7 Night 120,000 Southwest point package, you would get 120,000 Southwest points worth 120,000 x $0.016 = $1920. In this example, even if you threw away the 7 night certificate, you would have slightly increased the value of your points. Plus, of course, if you do this before March 31st, you’ll get the Southwest Companion Pass as well!
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Can you still book fewer than 7 nights with the 7-night certificate? Is it doable online or do you have to call? Thanks.
Yes. You have to call
the ecertificate is good for 2 people in a room. I tried looking for award stay at marriott for paris but for 4 people there’s additional 200EU per night, for 2 people there’s no additional cost. is that usual? Is there a way around this?
Do what most people do, sneak in the extra two people in later after you’ve already checked in.
One option is to book for 2 people and then contact the hotel directly to ask if you can upgrade your stay to a room that can accommodate 4 people. They might have options other than the 200EU per night charge that you were quoted. For the record this is not a Marriott wide rule, but this is what happens when you try to book a hotel where the standard room type has max occupancy of 2 or 3. In Europe that’s very common. In the US it’s rare.
thank you for this!
just checking, for package 1 can I use the miles transferred to Alaska airlines for use in partner airlines like Korean air or something?
Once they hit your Alaska Airlines account they are Alaska miles. If you find award availability you can use them just like any other Alaska Miles
[…] 12 things you need to know about Marriott Travel Packages […]
I have some tips regarding extending your certificate for another year. First, watch your confirmation. They replaced my cat 7 cert with a cat 1-5, so I had to call back to get it corrected. Second, don’t call to extend until the last day. I was afraid of forgetting, so I did mine 3/5 even though it didn’t expire until 3/31. Well the extension now expires 1 year from 3/5 NOT 1 year from 3/31. So I lost 3 weeks. Just FYI
Thanks for the tips. Note that extending the certificate is not a one time thing. You should be able to do it again next year, so it won’t really matter that you triggered it early. Also you can reset the date by upgrading it to a category 6 certificate and then later downgrade it back to cat 5. With each change, the clock resets.
Greg i want know how obtain one 7 night stay for Marriott on ebay they sell them for $900 for cat 6. do you thing its wise way to do it.
No
If I transfer points from my wife’s account to book a vacation package will they count towards lifetime status points in my account? If so when will they count when I purchase the certificate with points, or when I redeem the certificate with the actual vacation stay?
Yes, they’ll add to your lifetime point status and subtract from hers. It should count when you purchase the certificate because they will have to move the points from her account to fund the purchase.
Greg thanks for the clarification. 1 follow up question is if I have enough points to cover the vacation package in my account, but want to use her points for the reservation as I understand it I can transfer more than 50,000 points once per year to cover the package under my account and not use any of my points.
Yes you can do that. If you want to avoid confusion, then move most of your points to your SPG account first.
What type of room do you get with a 7 night package? The best available, or only limited to standard rooms, no view etc. Thinking of going for cat. 9 hotel The Cosmopolitan in Vegas.
You get the same standard room you’d get if you booked a regular award night. Standard award nights are usually the lowest category of room. As an elite member, you could always be upgraded. However, I probably wouldn’t expect a big upgrade at a place like The Cosmopolitan. Flyertalk indicates that you might get a small upgrade if you’re a Marriott Platinum member. See this thread for datapoints:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marriott-ritz-carlton-rewards/1158298-las-vegas-cosmopolitan-hotel.html
Not sure if you may be able to pay something for an upgrade?
If we extend the expiration date of our 7 night certificate for another year…but then end up still not using it will we have the option to exchange for 45K points? Or is it a choice of extending expiration date OR taking the 45K points.
Yes, you can do that. The two are independent. Note though that the ability to exchange it for 45K points is not a published benefit. They could remove that option at any time. So, if you wait until Marriott and SPG merge into one program, it is possible it will then be too late.
I just tried to upgrade my Category 1-5 certificate to a Category 7 (I have the additional 60k points needed for the difference. Three different phone calls, three no’s.
Could I please get the Customer Support number to call, I’ve tried 800-450-4442, 800-721-7033, 800-321-7396.
Any help would be appreciated.
Make sure to speak with Marriott Rewards, not just Marriott overall. Try this number: 1-801-468-4000
[…] those certificates. You can attempt to quickly use them, you can call to extend them, or you can get some of your points redeposited and cancel it. Those were the options until Shawn decided to find a better way and got his certificate extended […]
If you have a category 1-5 certificate but found availability for a category 6 hotel you want to stay, can you pay the difference in cash if you don’t have the points (30K)?
I’m not aware of a way to pay “cash” per se. You could buy the points though. You’ll be better off buying SPG points and converting them to Marriott. See this morning’s post:
https://frequentmiler.com/2018/02/02/buy-spg-points-35-off/
With the current discount, 10K Starpoints (which convert to 30K Marriott points) will cost you $227.50. That comes out to about $32.50 per night — probably not a bad deal for the upgrade.
[…] For more details about Marriott flight & hotel packages (also known as travel packages), see: 12 things you need to know about Marriott Travel Packages. […]
Can you transfer the airline miles to a friend’s airline account? If I wanted the stay and he needed the miles – is that possible?
I’ve heard that’s possible, but haven’t tried it. It’s worth asking a Marriott Rewards rep
Booked this package about 2 weeks ago. I asked to deposit miles into my wife’s airline account and I would take the free 7 nights certificate but the rep said it was not possible. Both miles and free nights certificate had to go to the same name.
which option would you recommend?
1. have 153k Marriott, will be getting 35k SPG bonus by next month. do the 270k with United. 132k + 58k in my united account + 20k transfer from spg. give me 2 Biz RT to Europe. the 7 nights cert doesnt appeal me.
2. skip the Marriott package. with 58k united + transfer 122k from UR for 2 Biz One way (120k) and 2 Economy. (60k) trying to save points for future use which is why i’m flying economy back. i just want to have an experience flying biz.
3. do option 2 but RT. 182k transfer from UR. yikes!
I’d do option 1, but I’m not sure how it adds up? 153K + 35K x 3 doesn’t quite get to the required 270K Marriott points
If I book a stay with a travel certificate and I cancel the stay before 48 hours, will I get the certificate back? Thanks.
Yes
[…] Category 5 Marriott requires 25,000 points per night, 5 nights for 100K (5th night free on award stays), or is a great use of a Cat 1-5 Marriott Travel Package […]
[…] Marriott Travel Packages would be the ultimate use of a transfer bonus (See: 12 Things you need to know about Marriott Travel Packages). These hotel-and-miles packages present great value as you can turn Marriott points into a 7-night […]
[…] mentioned in that excerpt is the Marriott RewardsPlus Hotel + Air Package. For details, see: 12 things you need to know about Marriott Travel Packages. And a key component is the ability to freely convert SPG points to Marriott points at a generous […]
[…] Interestingly, my wife’s email says that the application must be received by 12/31/17 to be eligible for the 30K bonus. That’s quite a bit longer than the current 35K total bonus on the SPG Business credit card, which is only valid through 11/1/17 (though note that offer requires a lot more total spend). Opening both would yield 78K total Starpoints for my wife after required spend — which could then be converted to Marriott and become 234K Marriott Rewards points, getting her in range for a Marriott Travel Package. […]
[…] (You can also trade in fewer points for fewer miles, but the rate worsens dramatically.) According the Frequent Miler (see point 8), If you don’t want to use the free nights, you can call them and exchange the […]
[…] Marriott provides many opportunities to earn free category 1-5 nights. Their credit cards each offer a free cat 1-5 night per year. They frequently run “Megabonus” promotions in which two stays results in 1 free cat 1-5 night (make sure to register!). And, the best value Marriott Travel Package results in a certificate for up to 7 nights in a category 1-5 hotel (see: 12 things you need to know about Marriott Travel Packages). […]
[…] for a higher category), which you can transfer from 90,000 Starpoints. You might even be able to get those 7 free nights returned to you as 45K Marriott points (15K Starpoints), lowering your total cost to 75K Starpoints. That’s […]
[…] Marriott provides many opportunities to earn free category 1-5 nights. Their credit cards each offer a free cat 1-5 night per year. They frequently run “Megabonus” promotions in which two stays results in 1 free cat 1-5 night (make sure to register!). And, the best value Marriott Travel Package results in a certificate for up to 7 nights in a category 1-5 hotel (see: 12 things you need to know about Marriott Travel Packages). […]
Nathan, if you try this please post your results. I’d like to see some datapoints from people who actually got the points credited.
Can I immediately turn around after getting a package and cancel the certificate for the 7 nights? It seems like this is the best way to get miles period.
90k SPG points to 270k Marriott points = 120k AS miles plus 7 day cert
If I immediately cancel the cert, and get back 45k Marriott points which is 15k SPG points then
I’m getting 120k AS miles for 75k SPG points.
Straight SPG transfer of 75k SPG points is 90k AS miles.
Why would I ever actually do a SPG transfer unless I just needed to top off a particular type of miles?
Yes, you can, but with a caution. I know a guy who did an immediate turn around and he met with some resistance from the Marriott rep he spoke with. I told him to try telling them that he tried to use the certificate but couldn’t find 7 nights in a row available at any of the properties he was interested in so he wanted to return it. That worked.
Why ever do a direct SPG transfer? Only if you have fewer SPG points or need fewer miles.
[…] I have written many times before about the value to be found in Marriott Travel Packages (See: 12 Things you need to know about Marriott Travel Packages). For those new to these packages, they enable you to turn a large chunk of Marriott points into a […]
[…] dependent upon a special transfer bonus, is to convert them 1 to 3 to Marriott and then purchase a Marriott Travel Package. With 90,000 SPG points, you can get 120,000 miles of your choice from Alaska, AA, Air Canada, […]
Greg, do you think the SWA package is still a better value than Package #1 today, even without the companion pass? Trying to decide on the redemption that makes sense for us. We usually fly as a family of five out of PHL, so AA and SWA are equally useful to us, but SWA often has bargain redemptions to MCO and ORD, while AA is good for getting us to the west coast.
The United package is probably the best deal for those who fly star alliance. If it’s between AA or Southwest, though, I would go with Southwest since they usually have much better award prices than AA
I was going to do that and they told me I couldn’t . I really wanted a 1BR suite and not to risk not getting an upgrade, so I didn’t use the certificate and I’ll have to use it later.
They didn’t even give you a cash option?
No, that’s what I thought would happen, and why I bought the certificate. The 1 BR suite was something like 30GBP more per night than the regular room that is available with points, so i thought I would use the certificate and pay that difference in cash. But you can only do that if the upgraded room is available on the website for cash + points. So if the regular price of the room you want is shown at say 30,000 points + $30 surcharge, then I think you can do it. But otherwise, no.
Got it, thanks. In order to actually do it, do you think it’s best to get buy the cert first and then ask or is it possible to see if it’s viable by speaking to someone at Marriott first, before getting the cert?
I definitely would not advise getting the cert first. As Cindi discovered, I don’t think that it’s possible to book anything but a base room type with a certificate.
How likely is it to upgrade the cert using points or cash for a suite? I have a family of 5 and a standard room or even a bigger room won’t cut it. Would need a suite and I have no issue with points. TIA!
[…] Why it’s a big deal? The best transfer option is Marriott Nights + Flights. Greg from Frequent Miler tells us 11 things you need to know […]
[…] Marriott Travel Packages can provide great value. We’ve written extensively about Marriott Travel Packages in the past and their terrific value. When there are bonuses like this, that value only […]
Also confirming that a request made to the Customer Support number on their website got us an upgrade from Cat 1-5 cert to a Cat 6 certificate and immediate reservation booked. A previous call to the number that came with the certificate email resulted in a no, we don’t do that.
Hi, could this be used on all inclusive marriott properties?
I believe so
[…] If you’d like background on Marriott Travel Packages, please see: 12 things you need to know about Marriott Travel Packages. […]
FYI: I just successfully upgraded my category 1-5 certificate to a category 6 certificate. The first phone agent said that she was locked out of the system needed to do this, so she transferred me to a supervisor who got it done. Despite the experience that some readers have reported, no one I talked to hesitated in trying to do the upgrade. That is, they didn’t question whether it was OK to upgrade, they just had a bit of trouble in making it happen.
Hi Greg, how many additional marriott points that needed to upgrade cat 1-5 cert to cat 6? Thanks!
30K.
To upgrade, you just pay the difference in points (Cat 6 = 300K, Cat 1-5 = 270K. 300K – 270K = 30K). See point #4 in the post for another example.
Does anyone had change the certificate for the 45k marriott? i called more than 10x and they are saying its not possible anymore!!!
That’s a total bummer. I bought a cat 7 and decided not to use it for that trip. But I made the change assuming I could upgrade or downgrade in the future.
YES, BUT YOU CANCELLED AND THEY GAVE THE CERTIFICATE BACK OR THE POINTS?
I didn’t cancel. I am waiting to use the certificate another time. I wanted to stay at in a 1BR suite instead of a standard suite (Residence Inn), and thought I’d be able to pay cash for the difference like you could with regular points. But they wouldn’t let me do that with the certificate. All I could do is hope for an upgrade to the 1BR, and I didn’t want to risk it for a 7 night stay.
Glad to see the recent post by the person who was able to upgrade it to a different class hotel.
I just got off the phone with a Marriott rep. I was trying to book a cat. 6 hotel with my cat. 1-5 7-night cert, and was told that I wasn’t able to upgrade the certificate with points.
Has anyone else had this problem? I’m going to call again, and see if another rep will know the process better. Maybe I need to word my questioin differently.
I just called Marriott again, and was given the same answer when I asked if I can pay the difference in points to book a category 6 with a 1-5 certificate. I was told you can’t do it. Both times the rep on the phone went to ask a higher up if it was possible.
Wow, that’d definitely not what all the bloggers say. I wonder if there’s been a change in policy. I just bought a category 7 certificate figuring I could go up or down with it when the time comes. I hope the bloggers do some investigation on this.
Jason, it definitely should work. Try these tips:
1) Make sure to call Marriott Rewards (not the general Marriott reservations or customer service line).
2) Ask to upgrade your certificate to category 6. You can use the certificate to make a reservation in a separate call, or after you succeed in upgrading the certificate.
3) If they say no, ask to speak to a supervisor.
4) If necessary, hang up and call again (and again…)
Can you gift the hotel certificate to someone else? (Or book their room but they stay there instead of you?)
Good question. Has anyone tried using the certificate to book the hotel under someone else’s name? It seems to me that it should work, but I’m not 100% sure.
Hello there – thank you for the post; it’s really useful!!
I have 2 scenarios about converting SPG points to JAL miles.
SCENARIO 1:
transfer 120K SPG points to the JAL mileage bank program. (Resulting in 150k JAL miles)
SCENARIO 2:
select package 2 and transfer 90K SPG points (which convert to 270K Marriott points) I will get 120K ‘Marriott’ miles which I can then transfer 1:1 to the JAL program to get 120K JAL miles. And then transfer 25K SPG points to get another 30K JAL miles, resulting in a total of 150K JAL miles.
So SCENARIO 2 saves me 5K SPG points and gets me 7 nights that I can break into multiple stays within the next 1 year.
Right?
Unfortunately, no.
Marriott has different packages with different airlines. The number of airline miles you get with each package depends on the airline — on the Marriott Travel Packages page, you see the names of the airlines under each package:
http://www.marriott.com/rewards/usepoints/morepack.mi
Japan Airlines is under Hotel + Air Package 2. The highest package there only gets 85k miles. So with 270k Marriott Rewards, you will get 85K JAL miles and a 7-night Category 1-5 certificate.
To be clear, you don’t get ‘Marriott’ miles and transfer them — when you redeem one of these packages, Marriott transfers X number of miles to your frequent flyer account with the airline. With many airlines, the 270k package gets you 120k miles, but there are a number of airlines where you’d only get 85k (and then there’s United where you’d get 132k….or Aeroplan, which currently has a bonus on points converted from hotels, so you’d get 150k).
All that said, if your goal is 150k JAL, doing the Marriott package would work out like this:
90k Starwood = 270K Marriott = 85k JAL + 7 nights
55k Starwood = 65k JAL
—–
145k Starwood = 150k JAL + 7-night certificate
In the end, you’re spending an extra 25k SPG for the 7-night certificate (over just transferring 120k to JAL). That’s the equivalent of 75k Marriott points — half the price of 7 nights at a Category 5. So that’s still not a terrible value *if* you have a valuable Cat 5 you want to go to and you need 150k JAL miles.
Hi,
Does anyone know if I can book a package on my mr account, but have the miles transferred to my wife’s swa account?
I have the mr points and status. I need her to have the companion pass.
No, you can’t. You would have to transfer your Marriott points to your wife’s Marriott account first. You should be able to do that since she is trying to book a specific award. The name on the Southwest account has to match your Marriott account.
Hi FM,
Thanks for wonderful blog. I need an advice.
I have got southwest Companion pass for my wife using Marriott 270K pkg. for myself, I got southwest card, thus I already have 63K miles for companion pass. rest I can get through the following 2 ways
1) Do a 270K Marriott Pkg for 7night/120K SW points. the only reason I haven’t done this yet is after buying this , I will be left with only 105K Marriott points and may not have enough points to upgrade the 7 night stay to Marriot 8-9 category which is where I probably I would be using them.
2) Since I only need 47K SW points from Hotel xfer, I can reach there by xfering 100K Ultimate rewards to Hyatt and then xfer them to 60K SW points.
This way compare to option 1, I will save 270K Marriott points (or 90K SPG) but will use 100K UR . but I will get 60K less SW points and will not get the 7 night certificate.
3) Last option is Xfer 50K Ultimate rewards to Hyatt (which will give 30K SW) and 75K Marriott into 25K SW.
This way compare to option 1, I will save 195K Marriott points but will use 50K UR . I will get 60K less SW points and will not get the 7 night certificate. Either of options 2 or 3 will leave me more than 250k-300K Marriott points in case I need to upgrade my package.
Do you think are there any better options ? I do have tons of AMEX MR (300K+), Chase UR (300K+) , Club Carlsons (200K+), Avios (300K+), Thankyou pts (80K) etc. If not, which one would you suggest me to go with ?
Thanks again !!!
That’s a tough one! How about trying to get a 5 night category 8 package for 360K Marriott points? It seems like you fully understand the options, so I think you’re much better equipped than I am to figure out which option would give you the most value.
As an aside, I’m assuming that you have a need for a second companion pass in the family?
[…] written a lot about Marriott Travel Packages. See, for example: 12 things you need to know about Marriott Travel Packages. They offer great value today, but they will almost certainly change drastically with the new […]
Is there any way to set up a travel package so that my kids get the room and I get the miles?
The certificate will be attached to your account, so you’re going to have to call to book it for your kids, but you should be able to book the stay for anyone you’d like. Most hotel chains will let you book an award stay for someone else. At the very worst, you book it in your name and add your kid’s name to the reservation so they can check in since they “will be arriving first”. I’ve never had trouble booking an award stay for someone else and wouldn’t expect the certificate to be any different.
Hi Greg, we just purchased the Marriott Hotel and Air package #3 (270,000 Marriott points for 120,000 Rapid rewards for companion pass). The ecertificate was immediately applied to Marriott account, and in trying to book a hotel stay, even in category 4,(which I tried just to see what happens) still shows more points are needed. I am not sure what I’m doing wrong, I can’t seem to find anything that is coming up that I can use this certificate without without paying for extra points in the category 1-5 that it is supposed to be good for. And I was interested in Doral in Miami (a vacation club that is category 5)…are extra points needed for this? Are these certificates only based on hotel availability? Please help! Thanks!
You have to call Marriott Rewards to redeem the stay certificate. Use the Marriott website to find standard room award availability and then call to book it.
So I need some help making a decision –
I am definitely in need of a 7 day package (Disney World). The hotels that I need are Category 7. This will save me almost $4k for the week.
I’m stuck on if I get the SW Companion Pass of the 132k points for United (I can get 5.5 flights out of this). I have the 330k points needed to make this happen.
– I live in COS but can fly out of DEN.
– COS is services by United but not SWA.
– I have 2 young kids so we can’t travel as much as we’d like but at minimum 1-2x per year we fly. We always fly with party of 4.
What would you do? 132k points or SWA Companion Pass for almost 2 years.
Sorry for the late response. Given that you are more likely to take advantage of the UA miles, I would go for that package. The Companion Pass isn’t worth much if you don’t use it!
[…] mentioned that they have no trouble manufacturing spend and they’re working towards getting a Marriott Travel Package so they could really use those 150,000 points. Even then, you could easily do better. Here are […]
FYI, when I called, twice, my Marriott Gold Elite line, I was told you cannot upgrade a certificate at time of redemption. However, when I talked to Customer care they said it was possible. So avoid the elite phone numbers and call Marriott Rewards or Customer Care.
Say I have a 7 night certificate but want to stay at a higher level hotel for only five nights. Can I pay the points difference for each night of the five nights, or would I have to pay the difference on 7 (even though I’d only be staying 5 and forfeiting the last two)?
Unfortunately, no. My understanding is that you have to pay the difference between the two 7 night packages. I think it would be interesting to try to convert your 7 night package to a 5 night package. See if they’ll let you do that.
Do you think it is too late to do this TODAY if I need to get 3 credit cards? I could reach the spending limit in a month. I have never applied for 3 credit cards this close together but could share between my husband and I.
I received approval for 3 credit cards today. Hopefully I can turn this around in time!
It should be possible. Did you ask whether they could rush the cards to you?
Well that makes me feel better! Yes, I asked Marriott (Chase) and Starwood (American Express) and they both refused. In the past, Chase has been accommodating so that was surprising. I was given the Starwood card numbers so I can use for Online Purchases. Hopefully I can meet those minimums while I wait for the other.
[…] Please also see: 12 things you need to know about Marriott Travel Packages. […]
[…] Yesterday, I called Marriott’s Platinum Elite phone line (800-399-4229) in order to book a Travel Package. Marriott travel packages are awards in which you exchange Marriott Rewards points for airline miles plus a certificate for a 7 night stay. You do not need to use the airline miles as part of the trip in which you book your stay. The number of Marriott Rewards points required depends on which package you select (e.g. which type of airline miles you want), how many miles you want (50,000; 70,000; 100,000; or 120,000), and which category of hotel you plan to visit. Complete details can be found here: 12 things you need to know about Marriott Travel Packages. […]
[…] 5) I know that many of you are thinking about transferring SPG currency to Marriott in order to redeem points on 7-night Travel Package. Obviously, the biggest draw for most normal folks is Companion Pass on Southwest, which would be valid till the end of 2018. Frequent Miler has a good write-up on Marriott Travel Packages and things you need to be aware of […]
Can I book the Marriott Vacation Package using my points and have the airline miles post to my brother’s account, or does it have to be the same name on both?
Names have to match.
Data point. Called Marriott – Booked 1-5 and used 270K Marriott on Jan. 8th. Nothing in my SW account on Jan. 9th. Jan. 10th both the 120K and the Companion Pass is activated. Took two days (which is great) and less time than what I saw on other blogs. Companion is good till Dec. 31 2018..:)
Perhaps I’m missing something, but this also seems like the best way to convert SPG points into mileage, even if one doesn’t use the hotel stay. Meaning 90,000 SPG miles into 270,000 Marriott gives 132,000 United miles or 120,000 Delta/American/SW/etc miles. Or am I missing some limitation?
You’re not missing anything. That is correct. That’s the essence of point #12.
LOL. I just realized that I mis-titled the post “11 things…”
I agree, just figured that out myself! If you can get a 5 night package it’s a 22% bump in AA/Delta/Alaska etc miles, but the 7 night is only a 7% bump. But then again you CAN use the certificate to stay somewhere for free.
[…] These probably will not last much longer #hint 11 Things you Need to Know about Marriott Travel Packages. […]
You can do a transfer of over 50,000 points as long as you purchase the travel package at the same time. For example, I was able to transfer 270,000 points to my wife in the same transaction as the purchase of travel package 3. Easy peasy!
I am a newbie here. Is there a tutorial on how to get started? I have a very small number of Marriott points and do not travel for work yet. Is it possible to ever earn enough points to get into the levels described here?
Not a credit card user either.
Thanks for your help.
[…] Why it’s a big deal? The best transfer option is Marriott Nights + Flights. Greg from Frequent Miler tells us 11 things you need to know […]
[…] 11 things you need to know about Marriott Travel Packages – Marriott Travel Packages can be a great value if you know what do to with them. […]
I’ve done this before and had them recognize my better status, even though my wife supplied the points (and hence, the reservation). Just call Marriott Rewards and they should be able to handle it.
Come to think of it, I’ve also done this directly at the hotel before (they just looked me up), but you’re probably better calling ahead.
If I book a Marriott with a certificate in my wife’s name (who is gold) and I am platinum and add myself to the reservation.. do I still only get gold recognition for upgrades, etc during the stay or will they likely recognize my plat during the stay as well?
Great news! I just got off of the phone with SWA RRs and they confirmed that the CP will be made available to those of us who do the transfer. She said that the reason that it hasn’t shown up is that the systems had been coded to exclude it. She said that they are updating the system, and manually fixing those of us who already qualified. She said that I will have the CP by 1/15.
Additionally, I explained that since I thought that I had been denied, I had already booked a trip for me and my wife using points for each of us (going to the Big Easy for the annual jazz fest). She said just call and they would adjust and refund the points for my wife! I am really geeked.
Thanks for this post. I thought that I was just screwed here.
Can you use less than 7 nights? Meaning I book a reservation for 5 nights even though I only want to stay at the hotel for 5 nights. I’d be willing to just throw away the additional 2 nights. I guess I can maybe not checkout when I leave after 5 nights and 2 days later call the property up just to let them know I forgot to stop by the desk to checkout so can they check me out over the phone. Would that work?
Also does anyone know the answer to Julia’s question about splitting up a 7 night certificate (getting 2 rooms for 3 nights) for families that want to rooms?
Yes, as long as 7 nights are available, you can book it as a 7 night stay, but then only stay as long as you want. You can check out when you leave, that would be fine. In fact, I imagine that the hotel would appreciate it since it would open the room for other guests.
I did my transfer on January 2. I asked the Marriott rep for the smallest package “since I could always upgrade it” with 120,000 Southwest points. They have me a 5 night… no problems.
Now, the 120,000 have shown up at Southwest. How do I activate the companion pass? I don’t see any options.
Can anyone guide me here? First time.
Thanks.
Companion pass status will show up in your Southwest account the moment the points are transferred to Southwest. There is a meter on the top right hand side under “Account”.
Right now that space still says 0/110,000. But there is a note about January 1 maintenance going on. Figuring statuses, etc. Do I assume that one they sort that out then I will get CP? My 120,000 points already show up.
how many points did the 5 night cost you?
You can find 5 Night Award charts here: https://frequentmiler.com/2016/01/18/analysis-of-marriott-travel-packages-5-night-vs-7-night/
235,000 and she picked it for me. I just said give me the smallest Southwest with 120,000 miles.
consider it lucky or easy rep.; called & spoke with 6 reps earlier today, who all said no 5 night pkg except for timeshare owner
steve, around what time of the day did u call? thinking that a different time of the day when answered by a different call center or location may help
Don’t you have to be marriott time share owner to take advantage marriott packages???
Do you have to stay within a year or book within a year?
Would like to know this too…
I’m not sure, but I do know that they’ve been lenient about extending the date
I asked CSR, you have to STAY by exp date, but they will extend another year if you ask.
Thanks Greg. Great name, by the way
Has anyone had experience leveraging a timeshare owning parent or sibling in order to get a 5 day package?
I read somewhere else that you could get 75k Marriott reward points back if you cancel the hotel part. So I am wondering whether it is 75k or 45k.
I was told if I canceled the 7 night certificate, I would get back 45k from 150k value. Kept the certificate.
If you had booked a Cat 6 package, you would get 75K back (45K + 30K) since the difference in price between Cat 1-5 and Cat 6 is 30K points.
The math just make sence if you already have Marriott points in your account. Hower, f you plan to transfer from Chase or Amex point, then the rate is really bad.
270,000 Chase points = 120 United or Southwest point. Please don’t do that.
Or if you’re able to earn additional Marriott or SPG points between now and 3.31.17.
True but 270,000=120,000 + 7 nights cat 5 is an incredible value. Even without CP. But… hopefully they really do honor my transfer and I get CP. Points are transferred, still waiting to see CP.
It works. The points posted to my Southwest account today. Takes about two days. Says I earned the CP.
@Justin they originally tried to tell me that too but turns out you’re allowed a once-a-calendar-year transfer of more than 50k Marriott points from a spouse or domestic partner. The phone agent was able to transfer 83k of my wife’s Marriotts points to my Marriott account then complete the 7-night air+hotel package.
Has anyone tried to split the 7 nights for 2 rooms? As a family of 5 we frequently require 2 rooms and it would be great to do a 4 night stay in 2 rooms with 7 certificates and 1 extra night. Thank you!
I asked Marriott Rewards about this once and was told no — you must book a single room for 7 consecutive nights (or longer if you include paid nights)
FYI, I was told last night by a Marriott phone rep that I could only transfer up to 50k Marriott points from my wife’s account. So instead I converted her points to SPG, transferred all of them to my SPG account, and once complete, will convert them to Marriott points in my account.
The woman said that only actual hotel bookings can be made with points from two accounts.